Comparison - Ebay Wheel Bearing Assemblies vs. Jersey Built Hubs

Well as some of you might know Jersey Built Hubs [JBH] is no longer selling on here as he has been plagued with delays and bad communication. My experience with him in January was perfectly fine, 1.5 wheel lead time on the parts no biggie.

Lately an ebay vendor started carrying full wheel assemblies claiming to use Koyo bearings and selling them as a pair for the price of basically a bit more than the price a single unit for sale from the guys who build them on here.

Please note this isn't a post to undermine the guys on here or to shit on anyone's product. I'm just giving providing a comparison of both products that I received - brand new from the vendors. This is specifically to provide you knowledge from my observations - you can make your decision from that.

Price I paid for two from JBH - 345$ for a pair with CV Dust Seals
Price I paid for two from Ebay - 199$ for a pair

Link to the Ebay Hubs: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Front-Whee...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

The JBH are shown on the right in the photos and the left is the ebay unit:





Now for the minor differences:
Wheel Hub - Both come with grade 10.9 studs
JBH uses the Dorman 930-403 wheel hub with shorter studs with a black finish
Ebay uses an US Auto 930403 wheel hub with shorter studs
In addition you can see below on the right (JBH) side the nut/washer uses a flared nut and washer combo vs the standard hex nut and washer on the left (ebay) side.



JBH - Wheel Hub:



Ebay Wheel Hub:



Bearings:
Both state that they are Koyo bearings however the markings of the Ebay hubs are different font wise. It's a hard call to see which is a real Koyo but as you can tell below there are differences in the bearing font and some of the details like the machining finish etc. I couldn't get the camera to focus on the surface close enough to show it but there is definitely a difference in bearing finish.

JBH Koyo Bearings:




Ebay Koyo Bearing:



Overall I don't doubt that these would fit and if you have them installed by an ASE certified mechanic then you get a 12 month warranty on them... please read the full sale thread before purchasing there is a lot of "fine print". I bought them to compare the two side by side and determine if these were legit or not. As far as appearances goes they look close but there are differences. Unfortunately I don't have an authentic Koyo wheel bearing to compare these to (not that I would even know if any koyo wheel bearing I bought could be authentic or not).

If you have any questions or inquiries I'll do my best to answer them with what tools I have when I get the time. I am not installing either of these anytime soon as they are shelf spares (yes I keep 2 pairs of wheel bearings on the shelf... along with a ton of other spares).

 

If you google koyo bearing counterfeits, a ton of stuff comes up. There are a ton of counterfeits out there, and telling which are which is very difficult. The best insurance is to get the bearings from an authorized KOYO dealer.

 

Interesting - I also just noticed that their ad shows the OEM 90199-A0167 hardware shown but it isn't installed on the parts I received. I have reached out to question the parts installed and to question the authenticity of the bearings. This should be interesting because the vendor f'ed themselves by showing that these were assembled with them and sent me otherwise.

 

They are most likely all made in China.

 

Iirc, one thing the tw venders tout is that they make sure the bearing is fully packed with grease, the lack thereof supposedly the big killer of the stock bearing.

 

The only one who does that to my knowledge is Bamatoy1997. That's why I use his hubs. I haven't seen him in a while. I hope he is still building them.

 

There’s a dumpster fire style thread on why he isn’t here anymore.

 

I know he had delivery and communication issues. I bought mine way in advance of needing them, and they have been good. I think greasing that bearing prior to assembly is important. If you wait till your truck is dead and call any of these part time builders in a panic, you are way more likely to have issues. They all have real jobs, as well as less than perfect supply chains for parts. I'm not defending what he may or may not have done, just sayin..... I'm going to call him soon and order another set for the shelf, since delivery time is not an issue for me.

 

From the vendor regarding the hardware and the authenticity of the koyo bearing. I'll be sending these back since it does look like a koyo knock off and will not be requesting replacements. I did some research online and have found similar looking photos of the font that authentic koyo bearings and these don't look legit. In fact they resemble the knockoff photos I was seeing online.

Thanks for reading all just wanted to share my experience - sometimes pricing is just too good to be true!

 

Oh I’m not arguing for or against him at all. I just remeber there being a massive thread going on why he isn’t here anymore like a year ago.

 

Thank you for researching this. That reply is from the Ebay seller correct? The bearings are almost certainly counterfeit.

 

Yes that is straight from them

 

Such a shame

 

Where is that thread ? he last posted in May of this year.

 

It may have gotten deleted. I won’t repeat the allegations because I don’t know the truth behind them but they were substantial.

 

@BamaToy1997 is still here and active, actually.

 

I stand corrected.

 

Alot will hate BUT i got 2 new assemblies from 1A Auto and they have worked fine so far with zero issues.

 

OP, thanks for doing the comparo!

If someone needs to replace their front bearings something they may want to take into consideration is that the OEM/KOYO bearing has developed a rather unglowing reputation for not being the most robust, especially if used off road. IMHO there has been a need for a more heavy duty type bearing option from the beginning on the 2nd Gen trucks.

Toyota quietly introduced a new part that found its way into production on some of the later 2nd Gens. My 2014 has the upgraded bearings. In short the newer OEM bearing looks identical on the outside but has one more roller in each half of the bearing module and each of the rollers is also a bit longer. That seemed like an effort to making it more robust.

Someone thinking to keep their trucks for a long while might want to consider using the newer part rather than the least expensive or mystery-source bearing as the labor is the same.

I opened a bunch of white box generic looking bearings at a few parts stores some years ago and every one was the OEM KOYO bearing. And it was same whether it was in a Timken box, SKF box or generic box.

But that was then. I have no idea what he situation is now and wonder if the factory bearing upgrade made its way to the KOYO aftermarket or any other for that matter.

 

Nothing but a hit or miss anymore with bearings.